Le Beaujolais Nouveau est arrive!

We’ve come to the 3rd Thursday in November, when the annual release of each year’s Beaujolais Nouveau helps to usher in the holiday season. Beaujolais Nouveau, a red wine made from Gamy grapes, comes to us from the Beaujolais region of France. The first wine of the “new wine year,” the juices of the harvested grapes are fermented for just three weeks before their official release, always this day.

PARIS (AP) — The latest batch of Beaujolais Nouveau, the popular French wine that’s more fun than fine, made its debut Thursday.

The verdict for some: a sweet, fruity and authentic flavor that matches 2009’s excellent harvest.

“It’s excellent! I really like it!” said the 72-year-old Francois Cheri, who have tasted it for the past 30 years.. “Its soft, warm and very agreeable.”

According to a rule in place since 1985, Beaujolais Nouveau cannot be uncorked until the start of the first minute of the third Thursday of November. The scrupulously respected rule opens the way for midnight celebrations that continue into day.

The largest producer of this wine, Georges Duboeuf, comes out with a joyfully colorful bottle every year and the debate begins: Is Beaujolais Nouveau fabulous or awful? I give it points just for being fun, and French. Up until just a few years ago, the Duboeuf slogan was “Le Beaujolais Nouveau est arrive,” but they now have revised that to “It’s Beaujolais Nouveau Time!” I’ll stick with the former.